"treats"

DanniB423 · January 2015

A few years ago when I was on weight watchers, in used to have a "treat day". After I weighed in there on Sundays mornings a friend and I would go to breakfast and basically eat whatever the heck we wanted and it continued that entire day. Obviously I discovered this wasn't really the best way to do things. When I first started MFP I would still have a treat "meal". Just one meal vs a day that I could eat just whatever and not count it. Then I decided I was eating way too much still. Then I went to just adding 500 cals one day a week for a treat. I am pretty satisfied now that I can fit "treats" into my days pretty well and don't have to specify any day. I guess I kind of see it as evolution in my lifestyle change. Obviously special occasions come up and we must enjoy ourselves. But I really feel in control of myself and it feels good. Do you have a treat day/meal/plan or just take the days as they come?

Need2Exerc1se · January 2015

I take the days as they come also. I think your evolution is very smart and ups your chances of long term success. Well done!

ryanhorn · January 2015

I think the idea of "cheat meals/treat meals" really depends on the person.

When I was first losing weight, I tried to incorporate a cheat day once a week but what I found is that I would inevitably destroy all the hard work I had done that week by eating back all the calories I was in deficit by from the week during that one day. I've since learned that for me at least, it's much better to incorporate my all the foods I want into my daily life. Not only does this help me from overdoing it and binging, but it also helps me keep my sanity and in my opinion, it is much more sustainable.

I'm under the view (and some people will disagree with me) that food is not just fuel but it is a way of life. It's a source of enjoyment, of pleasure, of sharing, and of tradition. By only allowing myself that one meal a week or whatever where I eat the foods I love, I'm missing out on what a big part of food is in my life.

rbfdac · January 2015

I think the people who can eat everything and anything they want, but in moderation (ie make it fit in to their calorie goals) are awesome, but I cannot do that. I cannot incorporate a serving of Doritos in to my day without ending up eating the entire bag of Doritos. I have a cheat meal every Saturday evening, including dessert. I attempt to stay under my maintenance calories, but I'm sure I go over sometimes (it's hard to log some restaurant foods). I find it very easy to pass up "junk food" during the week if I know I'm going to have a cheat meal at the end of the week. I never tell myself "no". I just tell myself "later". I have lost 40 pounds in the last 3.5 months doing this, so it works for me.

Lourdesong · January 2015

I eat treats (i.e. calorie dense, nutritionally light, goodies) every day.

I have much better control over my eating by making the yummy foods I love a part of my day.

I can't convince myself that fruit and veg and yogurt are a treat. They're not a treat to me.

dopeysmelly · January 2015

I generally work treats in, but have to earn them either by meeting all my macros for the day and having calories left over, or on workout days when I have calories to spare, and even then they're much smaller portions than I used to consider a treat, and I weigh and log them along with the rest of my food. I don't log dinners out, vacations away from home or business trips generally, but I eat with moderation on those occasions, and skip things like desserts, bread, potatoes and sauces, which might count as treats most of the time.

I agree with @ryanhorn. Food is a source of pleasure and I enjoy every meal or snack regardless of whether it counts as a "treat" in the traditional sense or not. A delicious, fresh, crunchy red pepper can be just as pleasurable, but in a different way, as a snickers bar IMO.

DanniB423 · January 2015

@rbfdac I totally understand where you are coming from! I did the same thing with weight watchers. I find it hard to get back on track afterwards sometimes though. Congrats on 40 lbs!

DanniB423 · January 2015

@dopeysmelly you are SO right about foods being equally pleasurable.. but it has taken me a LONG time to develop that mindset.

13rialb · January 2015

ryanhorn wrote: »

I think the idea of "cheat meals/treat meals" really depends on the person.

When I was first losing weight, I tried to incorporate a cheat day once a week but what I found is that I would inevitably destroy all the hard work I had done that week by eating back all the calories I was in deficit by from the week during that one day. I've since learned that for me at least, it's much better to incorporate my all the foods I want into my daily life. Not only does this help me from overdoing it and binging, but it also helps me keep my sanity and in my opinion, it is much more sustainable.

I'm under the view (and some people will disagree with me) that food is not just fuel but it is a way of life. It's a source of enjoyment, of pleasure, of sharing, and of tradition. By only allowing myself that one meal a week or whatever where I eat the foods I love, I'm missing out on what a big part of food is in my life.

I definitely agree with ryanhorn, I used to also have a cheat day or cheat meal and literally annihilate all of the hard work I put in through out the week.

These days (since starting MFP again), I'm learning to balance and incorporate small treats i.e a small chocolate bar, a biscuit or a cider into my daily food intake.

Treats aren't a daily thing for me, maybe once or twice a week but I make sure I work my a** off prior to indulging so I know I deserve it!

gothchiq · January 2015

I burn too few calories in daily life, even with exercise, to get away with real treats. I've developed a few substitutes. A cup of hot chocolate, Swiss Miss is about 110 calories. My strawberry banana smoothies are about 200 cals per 12 oz. Cooked apples with cinnamon (no added sugar) have the same calories as that apple had raw. Pomegranates, cantaloupe, and strawberries taste great and are very low cal. The sorts of things that were treats pre-lifestyle change are now simply off limits because any time I have tried to fit them in, the amount of other food I had to knock off to compensate for the calories left me starving and miserable, or else I couldn't stand the hunger, ate more food anyway, and gained weight back (like over Xmas, still working to burn that back off). It has been difficult accept this fact. I am working to teach myself that cookies, chips, etc. are no more suitable for me than a can of cat food would be.

Kalikel · January 2015

I scheduled a treat week and was done before two days were up. I missed my fruit. I now prefer the real berries to the Crunchberries. I never even had the donut I'd been dreaming about for so long, lol.

I was surprised by the fact that I really wanted to get back to the healthier foods. Happily surprised! Not complaining! I didn't expect it, though, and thought I'd be chowing down on every kind of junk food I thought I'd been missing.

My new habits really have stuck and it would be just as hard to go back to the old ones as it was to switch to these.

blukitten · January 2015

I don't necessarily call it a "treat/cheat meal or day" but if on a certain day I feel like having some chocolate- I have chocolate- but I eat only one or two pieces of really good chocolate that I really enjoy instead of a whole bar of chocolate that doesn't really taste that great like I would have before. I count these smaller "treats" against my macros for the day and fit them in. I don't have them everyday- but fit something into my macros that may be considered a treat a couple times a week.

I do have a cheat meal kinda on the weekend though- one that I knew there is now way I could give up- a favorite breakfast meal that I can only eat half of but has my entire carbs for the whole day in it- but I eat it for breakfast and lunch cause it fills me pretty well and then I keep to the rest of my macros for the rest of the day- or try to anyway. Have lost 46 lbs doing this so it is working! Congrats on the 40! Keep doing what works for you!

spingirl605 · January 2015

I have a hard time fitting "treats" into my daily count. If I do, like gothchiq, I end up using up all my calories and feel hungry all day. Instead I've discovered low cal snacks, that are so delicious I consider them a treat. like sweet potato crackers with 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese. I find this delicious and feel content having that as a treat...

Wine, on the other hand (which I guess could also be considered a treat), I always leave my self enough calories for at least 1 glass, sometimes 2.

ryanhorn · January 2015

spingirl605 wrote: »

I have a hard time fitting "treats" into my daily count. If I do, like gothchiq, I end up using up all my calories and feel hungry all day. Instead I've discovered low cal snacks, that are so delicious I consider them a treat. like sweet potato crackers with 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese. I find this delicious and feel content having that as a treat...

Wine, on the other hand (which I guess could also be considered a treat), I always leave my self enough calories for at least 1 glass, sometimes 2.

No diet is every complete unless you leave yourself room for wine.

lemurcat12 · January 2015

I just take the days as they come.

I do tend to go out to dinner on the weekend quite often, and when I first started it was helpful to me to save some calories from exercise through the week and use them to fit in a treat meal--essentially I wouldn't go nuts or anything, but if I went out to dinner I could then order normally and try the interesting options without feeling like I was blowing my deficit. (I tend to go to local restaurants many of which have interesting food that isn't necessarily insane for a diet or inconsistent with my overall preferred way of eating, although I always assume there's a ton more butter and the like than I'd use at home.)

Now I don't really need to do that.

Unlike lots of people who say that having a treat meal derails them, I always found it a helpful way to make my eating plan feel enjoyable and sustainable, like I wasn't depriving myself of anything.

lemurcat12 · January 2015

ryanhorn wrote: »

I'm under the view (and some people will disagree with me) that food is not just fuel but it is a way of life. It's a source of enjoyment, of pleasure, of sharing, and of tradition. By only allowing myself that one meal a week or whatever where I eat the foods I love, I'm missing out on what a big part of food is in my life.

I totally agree with this, and just want to stress that I never thought of my treat meal as the one time I ate the foods I love. It might be the one time you fit in certain foods that are higher calorie, but for me those are foods I wouldn't expect to be eating every day anyway. I also enjoy all my meals (well, unless I have a cooking failure or mess up and forget to bring food something with poor options or the like). But some enjoyable meals have more calories than others, and also it was nice (and consistent with what's a sustainable lifestyle for me) to be able to go out with friends to a restaurant where the food is a focus even when I was doing 1250 and not worry about it too much. That never meant that I was starving and binging or anything even remotely similar to such a pattern.

Francl27 · January 2015

I fit them in my calories. I do have a couple days a month though when I'm just more hungry then yeah, I might have a cheat meal (2000 calories meal or something). I try to limit it as much as possible though.

But in a calorie deficit, you'll just make up for it in a few days anyway.

healthygreek · January 2015

I love chocolate so I make room for it by 1 hour workouts 6 days a week and a long walk.

NoelFigart1 · January 2015

I like my appletinis and chocolate. I have one or the other most days, but I have a very small serving. It's nice. Holidays and feast days, I feast, just like Blind Io intended.

"treats"

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